It's an unequal fight: They have resources, we have resilience; they are merchants of death, we carry with us dreams of oppressed

Counterview Desk
Gujarat’s Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani has made an “urgent appeal” for funds through Crowdnewsing (click HERE) to support his campaign against the BJP ahead of the Gujarat elections. Text of the appeal:
Dear friends and well-wishers, ever since the horrific videos of Una flogging surfaced, some of us got together to relentlessly work against the fascist communal and brahmanical Gujarat government led by RSS-BJP. The Una flogging brought to the fore the largely invisible yet deeply entrenched casteist character of BJP led ruling class of Gujarat.
In no time, a massive consolidation of the Dalit masses took place in Gujarat. Dalits are just 7% in Gujarat and the mainstream media hardly highlighted their plight and suffering before. However, after one and half year of our continuous struggle under the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, the mainstream media is forced to write about atrocities and marginalisation of Dalits in Gujarat. RDAM’s continuous struggle has been able to ensure actual possession of land to the Dalits, that had remained only on paper for the past many years.
This has instilled confidence and courage among the Dalit population, especially the youth. There is immense passion among the Dalit youth now to fight back the saffron hoodlums and their dangerous, anti-democratic and violent politics.
We uphold Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision and dream and for that we need to give these fascist goons the biggest jolt on their home turf in Gujarat. Does that mean we are supporting any political party? No we are not. Our sole focus of campaign and consolidation is against these communal, casteist, patriarchal and fascist forces of RSS. Nothing more, but not nothing less.
But then we are a non-funded organization. We are one and half year old Dalit rights group which has never received funds from any political party, corporates, NGOs or funding agencies. Our organisation namely Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch works and survives with people's contributions, the motto being - 'Janta ki ladayee, janta ke paiso se'.
On the other hand the enemy camp in power has immense backing not just from Indian corporations but global capital as well. These fascists are destroying not just Gujarat but the entire country, our secular fabric and our constitutional values. We have decided to fight back against these murderous gang. We have decided to stand up and speak truth to power, look the fascists in the eye and fight them back.
We do not have the big industrialists or global capitalists backing us. But we have you. Your support and contribution matter to us. We are confident that we can fight this immensely unequal battle if people stand by us. If the progressive, democratic people who stand by the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar, of Birsa Munda, Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule; if the struggles of the oppressed majority of the country stand by us, then we are confident we can fight back. And any jolt in Gujarat can snowball into a larger defeat of these fascist forces countrywide.
Let us fight back, unitedly and resolutely.
During and just before the upcoming Gujarat elections our plans are the following:
In next 3 weeks, we want to have 12 public meetings (jan sabhas) in various parts of Gujarat, each costing around 50-60 thousand rupees for stage, mike and other set up along with its publicity material. For this we are launching a Vehicle March from 26th November to 6th December using 4 buses, traveling cost of each would cost 10 thousand rupees per day.
Then food and accommodation of about 200 people every day, which will cost 25 thousand per day which amounts to 2,50,000 for 11 days.
At the end of the March we are planning a huge gathering of more than 50 thousand people at Ahmedabad, this particular event will cost nothing less than 2 lakh.
The total cost will therefore come around 20 lakh. This is nothing compared to the crores of rupees that the political parties launder during elections. We are putting our entire expenses open so that people can support us.
In all these rallies we are going to take the BJP-RSS head on, expose each and every of their anti-democratic moves in the past twenty two years and lay bare their thoroughly anti-people policies.
No. This is an unequal fight. They have the resources, we have the resilience. They are the merchants of death and destruction, we carry with us the dreams and struggles of the oppressed people for justice and democracy. We are not going to give up, but fight back. Fight back with us!
Seeking your support and solidarity…

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog